Sunday, August 26, 2012

Since I couldn't fit them into the YouTube video description box, here are the quotes captioned into my latest video, A Latter Day Re-Gift, where I note the striking similarities between Islam and Mormonism.

Islam and
Mormonism Citation Captions:

1.Names

a.Muhammad

b.Joseph Smith

2.Alone place

a.Cave

b.Woods

3.Name of angel

a.Gabriel

b.Moroni

4.Reestablishing the one true religion

a."Abraham was not a Jew, nor yet a
Christian; but he was an upright man who had surrendered (to Allah), and he was
not of the idolaters." -Surah 3.67

"There is no reproach for the Prophet in that which Allah maketh his due.
That was Allah's way with those who passed away of old - and the commandment of
Allah is certain destiny - Who delivered the messages of Allah and feared Him,
and feared none save Allah. Allah keepeth good account. Muhammad is not the
father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of
the Prophets; and Allah is ever aware of all things. -Surah 33.38-40"

b."My object in going to inquire of
the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which
to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able
to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of
all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart
that all were wrong)—and which I should join. I was answered that I must join
none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said
that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors
were all corrupt; that: 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts
are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a
form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'” -Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith-History,
pars. 18-19.

5.Unverifiable

a.Revelation from an angel that no one
else gets to see/hear

b.Revelation from golden plates that
nobody else gets to see

6.Christians changed the Bible

a."And because of their saying: We
slew the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not
norcrucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree
concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit
of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain." -Surah 4:157

b.John 1:1 (ESV, KJV) In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Meaning: Jesus is God)

vs.

John 1:1 (Joseph Smith Translation)In
the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel
was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the
Son was of God. (Meaning: Jesus is not God)

7.The Trinity

a."And when Allah saith: O Jesus,
son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods
beside Allah? He saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I
had no right." -Surah 5.116

b."We
declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost are separate persons." -The Only True God and Jesus
Christ Whom He Hath Sent Jeffery R. Holland Of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles

a."Those who spend (benevolently)
in ease as well as in straightness, and those who restrain (their) anger and
pardon men; and Allah loves the doers of good (to others). And those who when they commit an indecency
or do injustice to their souls remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their
faults-- and who forgives the faults but Allah, and (who) do not knowingly
persist in what they have done. (As for)
these-- their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which
rivers flow, to abide in them, and excellent is the reward of the
laborers." -Surah 3.134-136

b."They are they who received the testimony of
Jesus, andbelieved on his name and
were baptized after the manner of his burial,
being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the
commandment which he has given—That by keeping the commandments they
might be washed andcleansed from all their sins, and
receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who
is ordained and sealed unto this power; And who overcome by
faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the
Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true. They are
they who are the church of the Firstborn...These are they whose
bodies arecelestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the
highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being
typical." -Doctrines and Covenants 76:51-54, 70

c.Pro-polygamy

i."And if ye fear
that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good
to you, two or three or four." -Surah
4:3

ii."And again, as pertaining
to the law of the priesthoodif any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse
another, and the first give her consent,
and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other
man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto
him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no
one else." -Doctrines and
Covenants, Section 132.61

12.Division in followers after prophet's death

a.Sunnis/Shiites

b.Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints/Reorganized Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints

13.Change in theology based on political environment

a.Politically weak in Mecca: Let's be friends, Christians and Jews!
("And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that
is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, We believe
in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your
God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.'" -Surah 29.46)

Politically strong in Medina: Die, Christians and Jews, die! ("And kill
them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have expelled
you, and fitnah is worse than killing. And do not fight them at al-Masjid al-
Haram until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. Such
is the recompense of the disbelievers."-Surah 2.191)

a."And when your Lord brought forth from the children of
Adam, from their backs, their descendants, and made them bear witness against
their own souls: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes! we bear witness. Lest you
should say on the day of resurrection: Surely we were heedless of
this."-Surah 7.172

b."And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in
the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among
those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me:
Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. And there stood one among them that was like
unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there
is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth
whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will
do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who
keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first
estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first
estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their
heads forever and ever."-The Book of Abraham 4:23-26

15.Mormonism's explanation for why some people are black:

"There is a reason why one man is born black and
with other disadvantages, while another is born white with
great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before
we came here, and were obedient; more or less, to the laws that were given us
there. Those who were faithful in all things there [pre-existence] received
greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less. . . .
There were no neutrals in the war in Heaven. All took sides either with Christ
or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here
based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for
deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits."
-Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th LDS President, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:61,
65-66

Friday, August 24, 2012

Todd Akin recently accomplished something that I had always considered impossible. With his odd attempt to explain that abortion is not morally acceptable even if a woman has been raped, Rep. Akin convinced me that abortion rights advocates may have been right all along.

Not that they have been right that abortion should be legal. The Word of God teaches us that, from the very moment of conception, we are fully human, fully human sinners in need of Christ's forgiveness and fully clothed in the dignity that God commands must be given to all the descendants of Adam and Eve. And this Biblical teaching that life begins at conception is scientifically echoed in the fact that, at the moment of conception, you find unique human DNA that is alive, cells that are growing, dividing, developing into tissue and organs and systems. If this "glob of cells" were just a part of the mother's body, she would certainly be as free to dispose of it as if it were her appendix. But it is not her body. It is the body of another human being. It is a life which cannot justifiably be taken. And to take that life is a murderous act.

So they have not been right in defending abortion. Rather, abortion rights advocates have been right in their contention that pro-life advocates simply want to control women. Todd Akin, or rather the response from many pro-life politicians and personalities to his comments, convinced me of this.

Mitt Romney's campaign, for example, made sure to reassert that the GOP nominee does not oppose abortion in the cases of rape or incest. The media also was quick to point out how out of touch with mainstream America Akin's opposition to abortion in cases of rape is, citing that only 17% of Americans believe that abortion should be outlawed in all circumstances, a much lower figure than the fifty-ish percent of people who identify themselves as somewhere on the pro-life spectrum.

Obviously rape is a deplorable act, a dehumanizing crime that continues striking with psychological violence long after the physical violence has concluded. And, at the risk of disagreeing with Jacob the Patriarch, I believe that the Shechemites got what they deserved when Simeon and Levi put them to the sword in defense of their sister. But, in spite of all that, what are Gov. Romney and other pro-life voices trying to say when they reaffirm that they don't oppose abortion in cases of rape?

Surely they're not saying life begins at conception except when a woman is raped, in which case life only begins if a raped woman wants that life to have begun. Such a position would be as scientifically indefensible as Rep. Akin's belief that a woman's ovaries have a built in Star Wars Missile Defense Shield in the event of rape. Rather, what pro-life voices are saying when they affirm the rape exception is this woman should get a pass on having to carry this child to term because getting pregnant wasn't her fault.

And, in saying that, what are they also saying? But all those other women chose to sleep with their husbands, their boyfriends, their drunken hookup partners, and they should have to take responsibility for their actions. They agreed to participate in marital relations or fornication or adultery, so they should have to face the consequences of the decisions they made willingly.

So these voices don't oppose abortion out of a genuine respect for unborn life. They don't believe that this living, growing, developing thing within a mother's womb deserves the same dignity and protection that you and I deserve, regardless of how conception occurred. No, instead, these voices simply want women to act like grownups, to be responsible enough to pay the piper when their actions come back to bite them in the uterus.

And I'm afraid this mindset is exactly what abortion rights voices have been condemning. You don't have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body, before sex or after. This has been the pro-choice mantra for quite some time. And the more that pro-life voices make exceptions for rape and incest, the more they reveal that their pro-life convictions are not governed by a desire to protect unborn children, but by a desire to judge sexually active parents. The more that pro-life voices give their consent to the murder of unborn children conceived in rape, the more they reveal that the only thing distinguishing them from a president who doesn't want his daughters punished with a baby is that they're fine with that form of punishment, as long as the girl deserves it.

But we don't oppose abortion because women should have to lie in the beds they've fornicated in. We don't oppose abortion out of judgment. We oppose it out of mercy, out of the desire to defend the weakest among us, to protect those who have no strength or power or influence. We oppose abortion because a human's life begins at conception, and because, from that very moment, he deserves the same rights that you and I have, both the right to live in safety as a citizen of this nation, and the right to hear the saving Word of God that gives peace to those who were at war with God from the moment egg and sperm first combined.

So please pray. Pray that Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals may see that we have no greater treasure than the lives of those who haven't even made a bump in their mother's bellies yet and that we have no greater duty than to defend their existence. Pray that God may soon provide doctors a way of taking children out of the wombs of mothers who would otherwise have them aborted and into the wombs of mothers who will cherish and love them and weep tears of joy on the days they are born. And pray that those who have picketed outside of abortion clinics and those who have utilized the services inside may both turn from their sins and trust in the saving blood of Jesus Christ that never runs dry.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

An anonymous friend wrote this article and asked me to publish it here.

This brother is not alone in his struggles. And while I believe it's meet, right, and salutary for a pastor to feel a sorrowful sting every time he looks down from the pulpit and sees that no nursing children or newlywed couples have taken the seats of the saints he's been burying, he ought not feel like a failure.

When we look at a congregation of senior citizens who cling too tightly to the past with one hand and perhaps not tightly enough to the Word with the other, we see something to disdain.

But this is not what Christ sees. Rather, Christ sees a flock of wrinkled sheep that He will never cease to feed and love and defend, a collection of saints that He is still preserving with His life, even when all five of our senses tell us that death has already consumed them.

So no matter many times you've received no response when you've commanded Lazarus to arise, and no matter how hoarse you've grown from calling out his name, keep shouting. You do not speak this word in vain. And Christ will continue to bring life and resurrection through your lips that preach and your hands that baptize and commune.

Burying a Church

by an anonymous Lutheran pastor

Once, my wife told me that she thought that my strength
as a pastor was comforting the bereaved, preaching at funerals, burying the
dead.

I was angry with her for saying that. But she said that she meant it as a
compliment. “That’s probably the hardest
thing for a pastor to do,” was something like what she said.

Burying people is probably near the top of the list of
things I have done consistently and successfully as a pastor.

On a given year I usually confirm around one, two, or
three adolescents. I may confirm or
receive by affirmation of faith about as many adults. I baptize around 8 babies, most of which are
the grandchildren of members who don’t live nearby or the children of members
who don’t attend Divine Service more than a few times a year.

But I bury between 20 and 25 people every year. About two people a month. My work among the living is like a civil war
officer trying to keep his command from routing, trying to get them to advance,
to keep advancing. But ground is lost
every day.

My work among the dead and the mourners is a constant
labor during which I am largely isolated from the congregation, preaching to
family members who are alienated from the church or who have forsaken the
Lutheran church for communions that still seem to win victories.

Burying the dead often seems to be my real work, that and
caring for those for whom death is now a houseguest. Preaching and teaching to
those who are still healthy feels like preaching to the deaf, or like saying,
“Lazarus, come forth!” and he
doesn’t. Or like a ghost preaching to a
congregation of ghosts. Trying to work
with the congregation’s leaders to administrate feels often like the restless
movements of the bedridden—not only on their part but mine. So much not only of what the congregation
wants, but also of what I want—perhaps it is vain. We think we are living and we can make things
happen. We feel like it is our
responsibility.

One of the reasons why it is possible to comfort the
bereaved and to comfort the dying is because I do not feel as though I am
responsible to stop it. With a
congregation it is different.

When I first arrived at the congregation I was confident
that I could get people fired up and working together. That’s poor theology, but theology is easily
diverted or diluted by what we want and what we need—what I would be more quick
to call “idolatry” in the face of congregational criticism.

Six years in, I feel utterly powerless and mostly
exhausted. You try to rally the troops
and lead some charges, not realizing that many of the troops have been on many
charges and are too tired to do it anymore.
But a few go with you, maybe against their better judgment. Probably as many more want you to fail. And the mass don’t pay any attention.

After awhile, you can’t do it anymore. The politics within the congregation continues. The numbers decline in church and
school. There’s no time to go after the
sheep who are never join the rest of the flock by the pulpit and the altar. There are no volunteers to help give rides to
church or check on why others aren’t attending.
They’re overwhelmed with the inroads the enemy makes into their areas of
responsibility—their children, grandchildren, sick parents and spouses.

And yet—the death of a congregation can be averted—can’t
it? Should we always chalk it up to
God’s hidden will? Or does God sometimes
allow the congregation to decline because He wants His congregation to seek
Him? He hides Himself, desiring to be
sought? He wants the congregation to
examine herself, to fast and pray for the lost sheep, to listen attentively
again to His Word? “In their distress
they shall earnestly seek me…” Where is that verse?

Even with dying people we counsel them to accept God’s
will as coming from the hand of a gracious Father. “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave
Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all
things?” Yet we also do not stop praying
for the recovery of the dying—if it is God’s will.

Often with the elderly it isn’t easy to know what to pray
for, particularly if they’ve been suffering a long time. And yet, I’ve seen families who—with good
intentions, out of love—keep telling a dying family member, “It’s okay,
grandma…it’s okay to go see Jesus now.”
But they don’t realize that sometimes it is not okay; it’s not because
grandma doesn’t want to go. She’s wanted
to go for days or weeks; she is tired of the pain.

But God is not ready yet.
He says, “No”. But we keep
telling grandma it is alright to go now, as though grandma decides when she
lives and dies.

Because death is inevitable, we don’t want our loved ones
to have to keep fighting it forever. But
burying a church? It’s different. There are young people and old people in a
church. There are those who are tired
and those in the midst of their years; and there are children and infants from
whose lips God has ordained praise, to silence the foe and the avenger.

One member of the congregation, I’ve heard, seems to want
the congregation to die. “Why don’t you just let it die in peace!” he’s supposedly said.

This often angers me.
But we’re in different places.
I’m 35 and this is the first congregation I’ve served. This person is 80 something. This person has had enough and no longer has
the energy to keep leading charges. Even
though I’m worn out, if I was convinced it would accomplish something and I
could get anyone to come with, I could probably lead scores more charges. Let’s paint this! Let’s convert that! Let’s show mercy here! Let’s study this!

But if I get this tired at 35, I can only imagine how I’ll
feel at 85. I would not give an 85 year
old a guilt trip for not wanting to endure radiation treatments or
chemotherapy.

But a congregation doesn’t exist only for 80 year olds,
even if they are the majority. What
about the 35 year olds? What about the
20 year old mothers in the projects up the streets, and the 7 year olds with no
father who don’t know the gospel of Jesus Christ? What about the children who are the age of my
son? They are the ones who are going to
have to come of age in a country in which the wealth and power we enjoyed have
become ruins. They are going to see the
collapse of the great tower of Babel built by our great grandfathers, where the
church and the Greeks and the Romans were built together in a great city that
housed Bach’s music and Luther’s
theology as well as Thomas Jefferson and Robespierre and Nietzsche and
Freud. All of that is going to be a ruin
by the time my son is older. It is already
becoming a ruin. But then the barbarians
will be scavenging marble from the aqueducts to build fortifications and
vandalizing the statues of Apollo.

It’s easy to preach the pure Gospel at a funeral and say,
“Your mother doesn’t have to lead anymore charges. She rests with Jesus.”

What about for a congregation that wants to die, that
wants to be able to die and say, “It was inevitable. It couldn’t be helped. The neighborhood was bad. The old people were bad. The school was bad. The pastor was bad.”?

How can a congregation want to die? “Why will you die, O house of Israel?” “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Much of the congregation wants to die. Or doesn’t want to avert it’s death.

Because death is upon it.
Sennacherib is surrounding the city.
But no one humbles himself before the Lord. The church does not pray and fast or weep in
dust and ashes. The congregation does
not rouse itself and seek the word of God.
It wants the good days to come back, and if they won’t come back, then
nothing is worth working for or saving.
Let our children live in the ruins like owls in the wilderness.

But I think there’s a problem with my preaching and
theology, too. I scold the congregation,
as though the dead could raise themselves.
Or as though the lame could strengthen their own wobbly knees.

There may still be time left, but the congregation is no
more able to contribute something to its own healing than the mourners are able
to comfort themselves. Mourners try to
do that a lot. They invent false
comforts. “He’s in a better place,” is
the one we hear most frequently. The
funeral homes print stupid poems up on cards: “When you stand at my grave, do
not weep. I am not there. I do not sleep.”

The first task is to take those away without giving the
impression that you’re sadistic and you hate them (if possible.) But it can be done, if there is
compassion. Because no one really
believes the stupid poems.

No, neither the
minister nor the congregation has the resources to prevent its death. Repentance
and renewal in faith and the continued existence of the congregation are in
God’s power alone. All of the three
depend on His will alone.

Perhaps I should pray,
“Lord, grant the congregation repentance and spiritual renewal. And grant me to preach Your Word rightly, so
that I don’t act as if our salvation is in our own hands. And if it pleases You, let the congregation
continue to proclaim Your Word and Your mercy to the next generation.”

It would probably be a
good thing if my pastoral work among the congregation took lessons from my work
among the dead.